As arts leaders scramble to cut costs in a $147 million public funding request for cultural facilities, they're also struggling to ward off turf battles over control of cornerstone projects such as the relocated Mint Museum.

Lee Keesler, president of the Arts & Science Council, which is spearheading the facilities campaign, says the arts groups included in the proposal will spend the next month in strategy sessions seeking compromise -- and savings -- on a revised request.

The wish list encompasses a 1,200-seat performance hall, a museum for an art collection owned by Andreas Bechtler, a relocated Mint Museum of Art, a new home for the Afro-American Cultural Center, rehearsal space for the N.C. Dance Theatre and renovations at Discovery Place.

"There are things we can do to make the package more affordable," Keesler says. "It's a challenge and there's a lot of work to be done, but I'm hopeful." By April, Keesler wants to offer a new proposal to city and county leaders.

City Council deferred a decision on arts funding this week in favor of allowing ASC-led groups to spend two more months trying to hone cost estimates and secure alliances with private developers.

Keeping the cultural projects bundled remains paramount, Keesler and other arts supporters say. At the same time, maintaining unity in the cultural sector presents a separate challenge.

A prime example: the proposed shared location for the Bechtler museum and the relocated Mint Museum at an uptown office tower backed by Trammell Crow Co. and Bank of America Corp.

Pairing the museums with a private developer could reap savings of $20 million or more -- and provide $24 million in self-financed bonds for museum construction by leveraging anticipated higher tax revenue at the site from the commercial development.

Executives at the Mint and the Bechtler Arts Foundation, in public comments, offer effusive support for sharing space.

So how do they explain the delays in hashing out an agreement? "I am as yet unclear why (executives at the Mint) seem to lack the enthusiasm we have for co-location," says Bob Lilien, executive director of the Bechtler Arts Foundation. "We are pushing for it."

Mint Museum Chief Executive Phil Kline counters: "There have been a couple of different ideas floated as to how they can be included. We're trying to understand their programming needs."

Mayor McCrory says any lingering snags between the Mint and Bechtler -- or any of the other arts groups -- could be crippling. "It doesn't matter to me who says who's blocking who," he says. "They have no choice. I'm not going to deal with grown-ups fighting for turf."

The new new thing

A revised ASC request would be sent to the city and county by late April under the timetable established by McCrory. The current package calls for $117 million from the city and $30 million from the county. Last spring, an ASC-led coalition asked for $88 million from the city and $14 million from the county before a mayor-appointed task force pulled the request.

Luther Cochrane, a local construction executive who led the mayor's task force, says the increased cost of the arts package stemmed from the addition of the Mint Museum, which was not part of the original proposal presented to City Council last spring. Ignoring the Mint would have amounted to creating a half-solution, Cochrane says.

Throughout the discussions, politicos, arts groups and corporate executives supporting the cultural facilities plan have urged considering the projects in pragmatic business terms.

"I'm just looking at this in the same way any corporation would do business," McCrory says. "You have to give the consumer, in this case the taxpayer, the best product for the lowest cost."

Even some members of the arts community acknowledge concerns over the constantly morphing plans. "It's very frustrating," says John Mackay, CEO at Discovery Place, which has been asked by arts leaders to scale back a proposed $43 million overhaul at the science museum. "It's frustrating because of the shifting sands. I'm concerned."

As an example, Mackay notes the concession made by Discovery Place and the arts groups when Cochrane's task force began its work. The task force sought to make the capital funding request more palatable by putting all responsibility for operating costs on the arts groups and private donations.

In the case of Discovery Place, that move will shift a burden of nearly $1 million annually back to the museum. Mackay says the trade-off for a better chance at landing public money may or may not have been worth it. Now, though, with the latest requests to shrink Discovery Place's makeover, the ultimate gain seems slight.

Beyond that, the proposal is inching closer to becoming a series of one-off capital requests, says City Council member Don Lochman. He cites the varying degrees of progress and uncertain financial projections as proof of the fraying coalition.

Arts backers disagree -- and cite unity as a vital ingredient. Even as Mackay, the Discovery Place executive, expresses reservations, he maintains that Keesler's bundled-project request represents the best chance for winning public funds.

Making a Mint?

Much of the logjam centers on two potential private developments that would relieve some of the funding burden by tapping self-financed bonds. The projects are Wachovia Corp.'s office tower, set to include the 1,200-seat theater, and the Bank of America-Trammell Crow collaboration, which would incorporate the Mint-Bechtler pairing.

John Lassiter, a City Council member who also served on Cochrane's task force, says the two public-private developments would help to a great extent because of reduced land costs and consolidated administrative expenses for the Mint and Bechtler museums.

"This is a negotiation (between the two museum operators), so everyone postures periodically," Lassiter says of the slow-moving Mint-Bechtler talks. "But, clearly, the message being sent from City Council is that they've got to get together. There's not enough money to do everything."

Putting the Mint in a private development reduces the cost to $40 million from $54 million, based on the latest estimates. For the Bechtler collection, valued at $20 million and including works by Degas and Picasso, an alliance with the Mint in space adjacent to commercial property could reduce its $25 million price tag by at least $5 million.

Lilien, the Bechtler representative, says his group has been trying for months to set up a meeting between its architect, David Wagner, and the Mint Museum. One of the major stumbling blocks cited during the discussions has been establishing a distinctive architectural style for the Bechtler collection apart from the Mint's decor if the two are in the same building.

"We've continued to talk about what we might be able to do," says Kline, the Mint executive. "And we are continuing to meet with the city and the Bechtler people to see what we can do."

McCrory says shared space is a minimum starting point for getting funding for the arts projects. He questions an unresolved proposal to move the Afro-American Cultural Center to Spirit Square, even though it's likely to reduce an earlier, $17.9 million estimate for relocation by a substantial amount.

The Afro-American Cultural Center could seek additional alliances and further reduce its request, the mayor says.

As the estimates and alliances swirl in the bid for public funding, Keelser, the ASC executive, is also prepared to reduce the planned $88 million private-sector contribution, most likely through a cut in the planned $52.5 million endowment.

If the endowment is reduced, politicians may become jittery over arts groups' ability to handle ongoing operating costs. Without a hefty reserve, some could falter. Similar financial pressures caused the Charlotte Repertory Theater group to shutter its operations last month.

A final hurdle looms if all other concerns are allayed: how the public sector would fund the projects if it decides to support them. Earlier proposals such as a parking tax have been scuttled, while a car-rental tax hike -- which requires state approval -- could meet resistance as well. "I'm not against the arts, but I'm appalled at the approach," Lochman says. "How do you know about operating costs without doing due diligence? The audacity to ask for $130 million and then say 'don't worry how we spend it' is hard to fathom."